Selling calves

[cowman]

It always amazes me how some people sell their calves. Just load everything and dump them at the presort...usually after chasing them through the bush for a couple of hours!
Almost every calf can be profitable if you get them sold right(well pre-BSE!). Know what the market wants and try to fill that demand. So if this week they want steers in a certain weight range then try to take those types in. If you got a bunch of tailenders keep them and feed them a bit until they are bigger.
Make sure you've got them cut and dehorned and don't send anything that is sick or lame!
It is very easy to just load them all and get rid of your problems but it isn't getting you the return you deserve!

[pandiana]

Very good advice, cowman. What resources to you use to determine what the buyers want? How much time do you have to fill these specs? It seems to me quite often it is a crap shoot as to what buyers are paying on any given week.

[kato]

We spent a lot of time over the years at the auction mart. Get to know the buyers, and what they are looking for. Talk to them. This networking is the best investment you can make. Once you get to know who is who, you can see what kind of orders they have, just by watching them bid, and try and bring what fills those orders.

You can soon see what is selling, and what's not. Fix what is wrong with yours before they leave home, and you'll do a lot better.

You'd be surprised at how important your reputation is. These guys seem to know where the cattle are coming from when they bid on them, and if they know you're not going to 'slide' some losers in the load, and that you pay attention to your health status, you will be rewarded for it. It takes a long time to get to that point, though, so you have to be persistent. They also remember the 'one nutters' and the chronic bloaters and the burnouts too, so you have to keep your standards up.

Taking a loss on the losers can pay off, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time. We aren't afraid to feed the limpers and gimpers ourselves, just to keep them out of the auction mart.

[cswilson]

TRhe place to sort up your calves is at home-when you go to town sewnd a nice even set. What we do is gather do our sort-then have the mart operator come have a look before we head to town-if there are any outs I want them taken out at home. The more size the cattle have the kinder the sort is also. Our calves go in one cut as finished cattle-maybe 3 if sold as yearlings and if we sold calves I'm sure they'd carve the hell out of them if we just loaded and went to town.

[grassfarmer]

Lots of guys should start sorting calves sooner too - not before the trucks arrive but before the bulls go out. It amazes me how many herds you see where there is no predominant breed or colour - just a mixture of breeds, sizes and colours. Throw in three different breeds of bull and no amount of sorting will make your calves popular.

[grassfarmer]

The ones that I get ripped off about are those that never keep a replacement heifer on the place, just buys CHEAP breds or pairs and then turn out the cheapest bulls they can find. In the fall they bring a heinz 57 bunch of calves to town, then sit at the market beside someone that has a good set of cows, uses good bulls and has uniform calves and cries like heck because their calves don't sell as high !!!

[cswilson]

Thats what presorts are all about sliding a few wringers in with the good ones. Most guys with good cattle do better at a regular sale in my opinion. Personally I never buy calves from presorts for that reason.

[15444]

emrald1:

Join the crowd. Your not the only one that gets ticked at people like that. They are also the ones that breed cattle that buck the market trends and expect to get top dollar at the market! And then bitch like hell afterwards about how the mart and the buyers screwed him.

[15444]

Orrrrrrrrrrr
You can become part of a vertically integrated market, feeding your own cattle for a locked in rail price for each and every carcass.

Couldn't resist a sales pitch on this one.

call me for lunch
rpkaiser@telusplanet.net

[oxbow]

rpkaiser,

Ding, we have a winner. In US money, the giant feedyards are feeding for just under $.50# for good healthy calves, but feed costs are only about $.25 on good calves. That $.20# difference pays the producer's time, manure hauling, pen and waterer upkeep, feedmill power and upkeep, and feedtruck fuel and maintenance. If you have 1500 on feed gaining conservatively 3.25#/day, you're going to have about $1000/day to cover nonfeed costs. My entire ranch flows better when I keep at least 1000 head on feed, and it's not very hard to feed 1000 or 1500 head. You just can't get behind working on a feedtruck or feedmill.

[farmers_son]

I think Rpkaiser is giving the best advice. The days of selling weaned calves has come to an end boys. Certainly we need to be considering how we can retain ownership of those calves this year, whether it is the set aside program or to hold on till the border opens in the New Year.

How about the buyers that will always cut out a calf or two out of a nice pen even if there is nothing wrong with them just so they can cheapen up the load. They bid 10-25 cents less for these calves and then they go in the same pen anyway. Pays for the order buyers commission.

[cswilson]

Ohhh aren't 'THEY' terrible we'd all be rich if it wasn't for 'THEY'. If 'THEY' are buying them too cheap maybe it's time for 'YOU' to buy them instead. When we used to sort calves we'd videoed that was standing offer if the rancher thought we were stealing the cutbacks we offered to buy him a load of same type of calves at same price. HMMM NO TAKER'S!!!!

[cowman]

Well an auction mart is the place where buyer and seller meet. If a person thinks they are getting screwed on a particular deal just stand right up and say "NO SALE"! It pisses the buyers and the auction staff off but it is your right to do it! They are still your cattle until you get the money.
Now I know a lot of people here are down on Neilsons, but I just want to relay something that happened at Burnt Lake Auction(Neilson Bros.) last week.
The buyers started this old garbage of wanting to cut out a few animals from a lot. You know..."I'll pay 2 cents more if you'll cut out two"?
The manager stepped right in and bought the whole lot! Did it a couple of times and that nonsense came to a stop real quick! You see he clearly sent the buyers a message?...not going to steal them at this mart today boys?
The buyers don't like this guy but they sure as hell respect him! And the farmers think he is the real meal deal! You can phone him up and ask him what he thinks about the market and he will tell you the truth! A very good manager, in my opinion! And a lot of other people I guess...as he has turned this mart around from a complete dog to one of the best!
His name is Mel Glencross.

[BFW]

Where did he move the cattle to? He probably has an order from some ill informed farmer that doesn't know any better than to give the market operators an order.

[cswilson]

I've had the mart guys buy calves for me and they do a good job-sometimes the orders they get nobody could fill-as long as you make it clear that if they aren't right you ain't paying for them things go pretty smooth-I sent one load back once and things were good after that. The ringside pissing contests get a little old after awhile you must admit.